France
Introduction
The French VAT rules on the layout and information to be provided on invoices generally follow the requirements of the European VAT Directive (2006/112/EC, 2010/45/EU) and its VAT requirements.
When setting up your remit-to address, your VAT ID must be in the following format: FR 99 999 999 999, FR X9 999999999, FR 9X 999999999, or FR XX 999999999.
All tax amounts must include the alternateAmountand alternateCurrency attributes. The alternate currency must be set to EUR. See Providing Amounts in Local Currency for more info.
Additionally, one of the following sentences must be included:
- TVA sur les encaissements
- TVA sur les debits
These should be added in a <Comment> tag on the first invoice line.
Invoice Content Requirements
| Invoice Content Field | Mandatory/Conditional | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier Name | Mandatory | The full name of the supplier |
| Supplier Address | Mandatory | The address of the supplier |
| Supplier VAT ID | Mandatory | The VAT ID-number of the supplier |
| Supplier Fiscal Rep. Name | Conditional | The supplier's tax representative's name |
| Supplier Fiscal Rep. Address | Conditional | The supplier's tax representative's Address |
| Supplier Fiscal Rep. VAT ID | Conditional | The supplier's tax representative's VAT ID |
| Supplier Co. Reg. Num. | Mandatory | The supplier's Company Registration Number (or number of registration for a branch) |
| Supplier Place of Reg. | Mandatory | A precise indication of the seat of the company |
| Supplier Issued Shared Capital | Mandatory | |
| Buyer Name | Mandatory | The full name of the supplier |
| Buyer Address | Mandatory | The address of the buyer |
| Buyer VAT ID | Conditional | The VAT ID-number of the buyer |
| Buyer Fiscal Rep. Name | Conditional | The buyer's tax representative's name |
| Buyer Fiscal Rep. Address | Conditional | The buyer's tax representative's Address |
| Buyer Fiscal Rep. VAT ID | Conditional | The buyer's tax representative's VAT ID |
| Invoice Date | Mandatory | The date of issue of the invoice |
| Date of Supply (Tax Point Day) | Conditional | The date of the supply of the goods/services |
| Date of Delivery | Mandatory | |
| Invoice Number | Mandatory | The number under which the invoice is mentioned in the sales journal of the supplier. |
| Original Invoice Number | Conditional | |
| Date of Payment | Mandatory | The sequential number, based on one or more series, which uniquely identifies the invoice. |
| Currency | Mandatory | |
| Nature of Tax | Mandatory | |
| Net Total | Mandatory | Amount payable (VAT excluded) |
| Gross Total | Mandatory | Amount payable (VAT included) |
| Exchange Rate | Conditional | The value of local currency for the purpose of conversion to EUR |
| Quantity | Mandatory | The quantity of the goods supplied or the extent and nature of the services rendered. |
| Description | Mandatory | The description/nature of the goods or services |
| VAT Rate | Conditional | Applicable VAT rate (per good/service) |
| VAT Amount | Conditional | VAT Payable |
| VAT Amount per VAT rate applied | Conditional | VAT Payable per applicable VAT rate used on the invoice (cf. above " VAT rate") |
| Unit Price | Mandatory | Exclusive of VAT |
| Late Payment Penalties | Conditional | |
| Late Payment Penalty terms | Conditional | |
| Early Payment Discount terms | Conditional | |
| Discount Amount | Conditional | Granted at the time of the transaction |
| Reference to the reverse charge mechanism | Conditional | |
| Reference in case supply is exempt from VAT | Conditional | |
| Cash Accounting Scheme | Conditional | Cash Accounting means that tax become due on the payment of the invoice as opposed to VAT on debit which is where VAT is due on the issuance of an invoice. France is unique across Europe in that the cash accounting scheme is the default position for the provision of services. For more information on the way Coupa handles this requirement please go here. |
| Margin scheme reference | Conditional | |
| Tax law reference | Conditional | The reference to Article of the French Tax Code or the EU Directive 2006/112/EC which exempts from VAT. |
Extrinsic fields
The following extrinsics are required to send a compliance-assured French invoice. You may require additional extrinsics specific to your industry or billing situation:
EarlyPaymentProvisionsLatePaymentPenaltiesExchangeRatePrePaymentDate(This is the "Date de Paiement" and it does not reference pre-payment.)
See Adding Extrinsics to Your Invoice for more info
Example invoices
Article type: Reference
- Simple Backed Invoice (Quantity Based)Sample cXML quantity-based, PO-backed invoice and the corresponding PDF version for France.
- Simple Unbacked Invoice (Contract Based)Sample cXML unbacked invoice that's based on a contract and the corresponding PDF version for France.
- Simple Backed and Unbacked Lines Service Invoice (Amount Based)Sample cXML quantity-based, PO-backed invoice and the corresponding PDF version for France.
- Simple Credit Note for Backed InvoiceSample cXML credit note for backed invoices and the corresponding PDF version for France.
- Simple Credit Note for Unbacked InvoiceSample cXML credit note for unbacked invoices and the corresponding PDF version for France.
- Invoice with Payment TermSample cXML invoice with payment terms and the corresponding PDF version for France.
- Invoice with Multiple Lines and PO ReferencesSample cXML invoice with lines that reference multiple PO's, and the corresponding PDF version for France.
- Invoice with Line Level TaxationSample cXML with line level taxation and the corresponding PDF version for France.
- Invoice with Header Charges (Shipping, Handling, Misc)Sample cXML invoice with charges like shipping, handling, and misc at the header level, and the corresponding PDF version for France.
- Invoice with DiscountSample cXML with a discount and the corresponding PDF version for France.
- Invoice With Custom Fields (Extrinsic)Sample cXML with custom fields (a.k.a. extrinsics) and the corresponding PDF version for France.